The Continental Army was established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, which is also recognized as the founding date of its successor, the United States Army. On that day, the Continental Congress assumed responsibility for militia regiments that had been raised by the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. These units and others authorized by Congress served in the Siege of Boston and the invasion of Quebec launched in September 1775. With these operations ongoing, Congress voted to authorize a second establishment of the army for 1776.
The enlistments of most soldiers in the Continental Army of 1775 expired on the last day of the year. On January 1, 1776, a new army was established. General George Washington had submitted recommendations for reorganization to the Continental Congress almost immediately after accepting the position of Commander-in-Chief, but these took time to consider and implement. Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England, the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and geographical focus.
Main Army units
Numbered infantry regiments
The bulk of the newly organized Main Army (that was commanded by General Washington) consisted of 27 infantry regiments, which were numbered in order of the seniority of the colonel of each regiment, and styled as "Continental Regiments". This differed from the regiments in the Southern Department, which retained state designations, some of which were assigned in the 1775 establishment. The Main Army regiments were created by reorganizing existing units and by encouraging soldiers to reenlist for another year. Each new regiment comprised eight companies, which at full strength fielded a total of 728 men. Of these, 640 provided the firepower (privates and corporals with muskets); the remaining were officers and staff, including three field officers (a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major), a captain for each company, a surgeon, a quartermaster, drummers, etc.[1] Other units were also authorized.
Wool's Artillery Detachment (New York). Captain Lieutenant Isaiah Wool. (Remnant of Lamb's Artillery Company of 1775; assigned to the 2d Continental Artillery Regiment in 1777).
Bauman's Continental Artillery Company. Captain Sebastian Bauman. (Assigned to the Main Army, April 13, 1776; later part of the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment).
Romans' Continental Artillery Company. Captain Bernard Romans.
Eastern Department units
6th Continental Regiment (Massachusetts). Colonel Asa Whitcomb. (Assigned to the Northern Department August 8, 1776).
The Middle Department was created on February 27, 1776,[4] as a military administrative district embracing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. When the Main Army moved from Boston to New York in April 1776 and Washington opened his headquarters in New York City, he assumed direct command of the department. As a result the Main Army became, for the remainder of the war, the field army associated with the Middle Department.[5] At the same time New York and the Northern Department became practically coextensive; only the Hudson Highlands and parts of New York to the south remained in the Middle Department.[6] These changes left Washington holding three posts at once: Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Commanding General of the field army under his immediate command, the Main Army, and Commanding General of the Middle Department.
Infantry units
3rd Pennsylvania Battalion. Colonel John Shee. (Assigned to the Middle Department, February 27, 1776; assigned to the Main Army, June 11, 1776; captured at Fort Washington, New York, on November 16, 1776; reconstituted and designated the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment in 1777).
5th Pennsylvania Battalion. Colonel Robert Magaw. (Assigned to the Middle Department, February 27, 1776; assigned to the Main Army, June 11, 1776; captured at Fort Washington, New York, on November 16, 1776; reconstituted and designated the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment in 1777).
1st Maryland Regiment. Colonel William Smallwood. (State regiment assigned to the Main Army, July 6, 1776; placed on the Continental establishment, August 17, 1776).
2nd Maryland Regiment (Separate state companies assigned to the Main Army, July 6-August 15, 1776; placed on the Continental establishment, August 17, 1776).
German Battalion (8th Maryland). Colonel Nicholas Haussegger. (Assigned to the Main Army, September 23, 1776).
Westmoreland Independent Companies (Westmoreland County, Connecticut). Captains Samuel Ransom and Robert Durkee. (Assigned to the Main Army, December 12, 1776).
Southern Department units
The Continental Congress established the Southern Department on February 27, 1776.[4] The department was the organizing unit for regiments raised in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.
4th Virginia Regiment (1776). Colonel Adam Stephen: February 13, 1776; Colonel Thomas Elliott: September 3, 1776. (Assigned to the Main Army on September 3, 1776).
5th Virginia Regiment (1776). Colonel William Peachy: February 13, 1776; Colonel Charles Scott: May 7, 1776. (Assigned to the Main Army on September 3, 1776).
6th Virginia Regiment (1776). Colonel Mordecai Buckner. (Assigned to the Main Army on September 3, 1776).
7th Virginia Regiment (1776). Colonel William Dangerfield: February 20, 1776; Colonel William Crawford: August 14, 1776. (Assigned to the Main Army on December 27, 1776).
9th Virginia Regiment (1776). Colonel Charles Fleming: March 2, 1776; Colonel Isaac Read: August 13, 1776. (Assigned to the Main Army on November 23, 1776).
Berg, Fred Anderson Encyclopedia of Continental Army Units: Battalions, Regiments, and Independent Corps. Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1972.
Lesser, Charles H., Editor. The Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Reports of the Continental Army. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1976.
Wright, Robert K.The Continental Army. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1983. Available online.
